Nursery
by sugar free vanilla
Summary: When Castle and Beckett go to decorate their new house, the walls aren't all that get painted. Pure, unadulterated fluff.


**If you think you've read this before, you probably have. I deleted this a while back because I didn't like it, but some anon was looking for it on the castlefanfics tumblr - and if they enjoyed it enough to want to reread it, then I guess maybe I was just being my own worst critic? Idk.**

**This was originally a fill on the castlefanficprompts blog but I wrote this like… 4/5 months ago? I can't remember for the life of me what it was. Either way, it went something like this:**

Kate's stomach is a mass of joyous butterflies as she inserts the key into the lock of their new townhouse for the first time, her husband's hand warm upon the small of her back. Turning the cool metal, she bites her lip in anticipation. This is their first time here as the owners of the beautiful home, having previously only been to the realtor's showings. The space is empty as they step in, stripped of the furnishings that the previous inhabitants must have taken with them. The walls of the wide foyer, as per Rick's request, have been stripped of the peeling beige wallpaper that had almost put them off buying and whitewashed, providing a blank canvas.

Rick nudges her inside, murmuring something about fetching the painting equipment from the car. This is their home together, both of their names on the deeds to the property. Kate adored the loft as had Rick, obviously. Yet it was his space, no matter how comfortable she felt there and now they're married... it seems wrong. Alexis will be living at the loft once she graduates college in a few months. Upon hearing that Alexis was looking for her own place but seeing her reluctance to entirely let go of familiarity Rick had suggested to Kate they buy a home and give Alexis their old one. She hadn't been sure until they saw this property and fell in love with it all - aside from that horrendous wall paper. The house had been eye-wateringly expensive but they could afford it… and it was, as Rick had pointed out, the perfect family home; somewhere they could raise the unborn child growing inside Kate's uterus.

Rick had planned to have professionals decorate the house, following plans he and Kate had made with his interior designer. Kate had objected, wanting to have an active role in making this house their home. So here they are, together, ready to get started on doing just that. He's made her promise to do no heavy work and with a roll of her eyes she agreed.

Kate turns as her husband thumps heavily up the path laden with several hefty buckets of paint in each hand. The strain shows visibly on his face, a vein pulsing at his temple and his skin reddening. Kate stifles a laugh as one of his eyes twitches repeatedly from the exertion. "Christ, Castle. Are you _trying _to hurt yourself there?"

"Thought - I could - get it all - in one - go." He grunts as he drags himself into the house, depositing the load with a relieved sigh.

"Did you get the paint for the bedrooms? It was in the backseat, not the trunk." Kate asks, taking stock of the tins on the polished floor and noting some were missing.

"There's more?" Rick questions disbelievingly, the groan audible in his voice.

"Yeah… I can go get it if you're too exhausted from the last trip-"

"No!" Rick quickly stops her, blocking her way to the door and gently laying a reverent hand over her swollen abdomen. "No heavy lifting, remember?"

"Rick, I can manage a couple of tins of paint!" Kate rolls her eyes and looks to step past him, but he holds her in place. He stoops, places a kiss to her stomach.

"Isn't Mommy silly?" He coos to their unborn child. "Your mommy is silly, but don't worry baby girl. Daddy is here to be the ever present voice of reason." Kate smacks him upside the head for that but can't help the smile that spills onto her lips.

"Just go get the paint, Castle."

"As you wish, my lady." With a wink and a bow, Castle is headed back to her Crown Vic.

* * *

><p>He grabs the paint and tucks the stack of rolling trays under one arm, scooping up the brushes and the rollers themselves in the other. He precariously loops his free pinky finger through the strap of the plastic bag that holds his surprise for Kate. He grins to himself, picturing the indulgent eye roll he loves so much, the twitch of her lips that would betray her amusement. Over the top his wife is not; she is practical and sensible, despite her more liberated side. He knows though that she loves his dramatics - she's told him so more than once. And he is <em>always<em> more than happy to oblige.

When he gets back to the hall she's not there. She must have heard his entry, however, as she calls out from upstairs. "Rick? We're starting with the nursery. Grab the paint and get up here." He shakes his head at his wife's orders with a smirk. The assertive tone she uses now is the same as the way she directs her team while on a case.

"Yes ma'am!" Castle shouts out as if answering a drill sergeant. His wife rewards him by leaning over the banister and flipping him off (in the most loving of ways, of course). "Mrs. Castle!" His affronted gasp makes her laugh softly.

"Get a move on Rick. We've got work to do."

He scours the tins for the buckets of paint labelled _Nursery_, taking them in his left hand before grabbing two trays, the bag of brushes and the lighter bag that he had managed to smuggle into the car without Kate seeing when she supervised him loading it up.

He finds her in the room they allocated to be their child's: close to the master bedroom but with a bathroom in between. The walls in this house aren't exactly the thickest, as Kate had pointed out after their first viewing with a soft blush spreading over her cheeks. Castle had hastily agreed. They didn't need to scar their daughter for life by having her hear… _that. _

Lilac paint for three of the main walls, they had decided. The fourth would be white with lilac elephant silhouettes - a daddy, a mommy and a baby, as well as a slightly smaller adult elephant to represent Alexis. Kate has suggested it, wanting to make sure her stepdaughter didn't feel like she was being replaced. (Rick had never loved his wife more and had proceeded to show her so. More than once.) For the small alcove in the corner they had purchased blackboard paint so that, once she was old enough, their daughter would be able to scribble away with chalk to her heart's content

They'd leave the mural to the professionals, focus themselves on the simpler task. Kate rifles through the bag of brushes and rollers to find the paint opener. Crouching down she wedges it under the lid of the first tin of paint and is ready to wrench upwards when her hands are enclosed in Rick's larger ones. Pointedly, he moves one to her belly. "It's hardly strenuous work, Castle!" She hisses exasperatedly, smacking his hands away. But then _oh God _she feels the familiar warmth behind her eyelids because he cares so much for her and this baby, this life they've created together and these damn pregnancy hormones are _so infuriating_. And then she reaches out to him, curling her hand at the nape of his neck and she kisses him softly murmuring _thank you _against his lips. She's grateful for his love, his warmth, his tender heart. But most of all she's grateful for the way he shows her everyday the depth of his devotion to her, even in the simplest of actions and for the life they have made together. Even in the heights of her hormone induced mood swings, he has never given her anything to doubt them for a second, constantly showing how much he cares.

"Always." He murmurs simply, pressing his lips to her forehead for a second before taking the tool from her and jerking open the tin of paint in one movement. The splatter of paint that flies from the lid hits his cheek. "Already covered in paint." He comments jovially. "Makes me believe my investment will truly be worthwhile." Reaching over with a flourish, he pulls from the bag - which Kate, surprisingly, has still yet to notice - two white boiler suits. Personalised ones. The larger simply has his surname on the back, boldly standing out in a clear font. The smaller has _MRS. CASTLE _on the back and _BABY CASTLE _in smaller letters over where her stomach would be. If he could convince her to wear it, that was.

"You are a ridiculous man." There it is, the heavenward flick of her irises and the barely-there upward tilt at the corners of her lips that he had envisioned so clearly when he first ordered the custom overalls. "If you think for a second that I'm wearing this, you-"

"But _Kate_…" His whine raises a flicker of annoyance in her but the spark is quickly transformed into something else as he leans into her space…

* * *

><p>She has no idea how it happens. Kate is completely flummoxed, ten minutes later, as to how her husband managed to get the overalls on her without her noticing and without breaking away from the soul searing kiss or, when that had finally finished, taking his lips away from her neck and collarbone. A tinge of red stains her cheeks as she realises that she been so entirely focused on the feel of his teeth scraping at her skin she hadn't even noticed him slide the boiler suit over her body. He was <em>never<em> going to let her forget this. And now the chemicals swirling through her bloodstream had made her want more of him but he wasn't even touching her now. Instead, he's pulling on his own overalls. Which are, Kate notices appreciatively, tighter than is strictly necessary. _Maybe these boiler suits aren't so bad after all._ Still, she is somewhat annoyed at him. And herself, for being so thoroughly distracted.

There's a job to be done though, so Kate get's started, bending over to stir the emulsion. She can feel Rick ogling her backside. She'd been worried the pregnancy would make curb his desire for her. She had been so very far from the mark. She's a little smug that she can captivate him, even five months pregnant. "You're staring, Castle."

"Yes." He agrees simply. Letting out a soft snort at that, she straightens, one hand on her back, the other gripping the paint mixer. She draws a line down his chest with the instrument. He gulps as she stops, low on his abdomen, leaving a glistening trail of purple down his torso.

"As long as I get to stare later… I suppose I can live with that." Kate bites her lip and offers a coy lift of her brow, knowing exactly what that does to him. She turns away, grabbing a roller and she swears she can hear him mutter _evil woman_ under his breath.

They make some progress then, Kate on one wall and Rick on the opposite. She's engrossed in the labour, methodically applying the paint when she hears a clatter and sharp cuss from behind her. Rick is standing on one leg, the other foot wedged into the open tin of paint. Her laughter is immediate, pealing out of her while he struggles to free himself. Dripping purple onto the floor (which is thankfully covered by a dust sheet) he curses again. His leg is covered to the midcalf in paint, soaking the bottom half of the overalls and ruining his shoe completely. "You think this is funny?" He questions in mock offense - he finds it as hilarious as she does and they both know it. Her laughter is the only answer he receives, so he flicks his foot towards her. Globules of paint soar through the air, smattering her all over. She scowls at him while rubbing at the paint that landed in her ear, her glare menacing.

"You're going to regret that."

"Am not." Castle's petulant pout works perfectly with his toddler-esque reply.

In response, Kate sharply jerks her soaked paintbrush at him. More of the paint hits him than it had her, and she quickly follows up the attack by throwing the actual tool at him. The bristles strike him in the chin, giving him a curious beard before bumping along his body a few times as gravity pulls it to the floor.

"Oh, you are _so _on K Bex," Castle cries out gleefully, his eyes gleaming. He brandishes his roller like a weapon, stalking towards her like she's his prey and backing her against the section of the wall that she has just painted. She realises what Rick's planning on doing only seconds before he does it. Too late to stop him.

"Richard Castle, don't you dare-" But then she is forced to shut her mouth, as his roller glides down her face, forehead to chin. "You are so dead. So dead."

Before he quite knows what's happened, he's on the floor and Kate is standing over him holding the can of paint. His eyes widen comically. "Beckett, no!" And then she's tilting the bucket and the thick paint is oozing towards the edge until it seeps over, spilling directly onto his face. Spluttering with his eyes tightly closed, he gets to his feet and reaches blindly for her. Catching her round the waist, he pulls her to him, wiping his face clean. On her hair.

"Not the _hair_, Rick." Kate moans, fingering the sticky clump of strands. "This will take forever to wash out."

"Well, I'm always willing to help you bathe, Mrs Castle." His eyebrows waggle mischieviously, as she shoves him away with a laugh. He looks absolutely ridiculous, his face more purple than not. It's then she sees the Kate-shaped imprint left in the fresh paint. One hand flies to her back. It comes away covered in wet paint and she groans.

"There's more paint on me than there is on the actual wall." Castle seems to consider her complaint before nodding.

"Better finish the job then…" She nods in agreement; although she is slightly disappointed that their play time has come to an end, they do have an actual task to complete. But then she notices that he's eyeing her up like a slab of meat. None of his attention is on the wall and he realises he's not talking about finishing the walls… but instead, is on about coating her.

She shrieks with laughter as he raises his paintbrush, working on smothering her bump first, the _BABY CASTLE_ not even visible when he's done. He swiftly moves on, this time working his way up from the bottom of her left leg and she's laughing too hard to even try to stop him aside from the feeble flapping of her hands at his chest.

Soon she's coated head to toe. Rick stands back to admire his handiwork, but only had a second before Kate jumps him. She clings like a koala, transferring as much paint as she can onto him. The state of him is hilarious and she can't even imagine how God-awful she must be looking right now but she couldn't care less. She has the brightest of futures ahead of her with this man - full of light and laughter and fun. One, before she met him and for a fair while after, she'd been certain would be denied to her. But he gives her that and more. And she loves him. She is about to tell him so, but he's kissing her softly before she can get a word out. One hand curled in her hair, the other caressing her abdomen, he pulls away. "I love you so much. And the best is yet to come." He adds, stepping back and bending to place a kiss to the swell of her stomach. She draws him back into his arms, this absurd, risible husband of hers. The two of them must be a sight, like mutant purple smurfs. In that moment though, they couldn't be more perfect to each other.

"It's funny." She murmurs against his chest. "I was just thinking the same thing."

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